AISG Chinese Culture Day: Year of the Horse
Chinese Culture Day is one of our community’s favorite days at AISG, a day of where we celebrate the culture of our host country, the gift of giving, and the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. Our students come together for a day of performances, games, activities, celebrations, and more, welcoming the Year of the Horse.
Elementary School
Celebrations began at the start of the day with our Annual Fund Hongbao Reception. We have our cherished tradition where students and caregivers hang their blessings on a big cherry blossom tree at the entrance of our Ersha campus when they arrive in the morning.
The celebrations then took to the stage, opening with a dynamic Grade 5 dragon and lion dance team, showcasing the skills they’ve learned from expert Cantonese lion dance teachers from our past Speaker Series guest, Weibin Zhao’s talented team.
Our teachers also got on stage to show off their language skills to wish everyone happy lunar new year and good fortunes with Chinese idioms in Cantonese, a yearly tradition that our students love.
This year’s theme was the ‘56 Ethnic Groups of China’ which included a beautiful pipa performance of the Dance Song of the Yi Ethnic Group, and a lively puppet show telling “The Mighty Warrior” — the legend of Yang Jian, also known as the great god Erlang. Music filled the air as our choir performed “Pomegranate Seeds” and “Jasmine Flower”.
Our students and caregivers also modeled traditional attire in the costume show of the 56 Ethnic Groups, representing communities such as Han, Zhuang, Uyghur, Hui, Miao, Manchu, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Buyi. The show closed with a visit from the God of Fortune – a favorite since he delivers the hongbaos with a special treat inside!
The celebration continued in the gym, where cultural booths were run by caregiver volunteers. Students explored booths offering bamboo weaving, Cantonese embroidery, paper cutting, woodblock New Year prints, lantern making, tea culture experiences, cultural games, festive crafts, local snacks, and the rhythmic bamboo dance. Every grade had their turn to participate, ensuring a day truly filled with connection and discovery.
Secondary School
Our Secondary students celebrated with their Lunar New Year Festival! The gym was set up with booths run by our student groups Chinese Culture Club, Student Council, National Chinese Honor Society, Korean Culture Club, and Japanese Culture Club!
Students got to learn about the various ways that different cultures celebrate Lunar New Year with fun games and activities like calligraphy, lantern decorating, and ink rubbing. By highlighting the customs of different cultural groups, our students built understanding and connection, making Chinese Culture Day a true reflection of unity in diversity.
Chinese Culture Day embodies AISG’s commitment to giving students an authentic, immersive experience of Chinese heritage. It builds appreciation and understanding of local culture while strengthening our diverse and compassionate community.
A heartfelt thank you goes to our Annual Fund, Elementary caregiver volunteers, and Chinese team for organizing performances, creating costumes, managing activities, and running booths — your dedication made this year’s Cantonese Culture Day truly unforgettable. And to our Secondary students who organized culture games and activities for our community to celebrate the holiday.